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G’s Map Maker and Openstreetmap (it’s the LICENSE)

The Google Map Maker got a lot coverage from the Philippine local media when it publicly launched that the user-generated data from Map maker is now in the main Google map. (I longed for the day when Openstreetmap Philippines gets such hype from the mainstream media, but being a volunteer group, how can we organize such press event when we can’t even provide free beer to journalists?)

So what is the difference between Google’s Map Maker and Openstreemap?

Both projects at first glance looks very similar, “crowd-source mapping”. I believe Google Map Maker was partly inspired by the success of Openstreetmap. Google initially tested the concept in India and then expanded to other countries where the big road map makers don’t have any data.

Google Map Maker capitalizes on using satellite imagery to trace features the same way we do with Yahoo! images in OSM. Google clearly has the advantage on this front because they have waaaaay better imagery in the Philippines than that of Yahoo!. On the other hand, OSM can use gps traces where there is no imagery. A very good example is the recent update in Boracay.

The main difference between the two project is the LICENSE. The LICENSE provides you the “legal framework” on what you can/can’t do with the data.

(a) access or use the Products or any Content through any technology or means other than those provided in the Products, or through other explicitly authorized means Google may designate (such as through the Google Maps/Google Earth APIs);
(b) copy, translate, modify, or make derivative works of the Content or any part thereof;
(c) redistribute, sublicense, rent, publish, sell, assign, lease, market, transfer, or otherwise make the Products or Content available to third parties;
(d) reverse engineer, decompile or otherwise attempt to extract the source code of the Service or any part thereof, unless this is expressly permitted or required by applicable law;

This simply means, you give them data but you can’t use the data other than within Google’s own API. You can’t get the “source”, which, in this case is the vector data. All you get are free image tiles.

1. Anyone can copy OSM data.
2. But if you incorporate it into something else, that “something else” also has to be copiable under the same terms and conditions (ShareAlike).
3. When you copy it, you have to give credit to the copyright owner (Attribution).

With several collaborative mapping project providing similar services, is it good or bad for the Philippines?

In some ways they are competing because both projects can split the map-making community. We need more volunteers the same way with Map Maker. On the other hand, I do welcome Map Maker as a healthy competition.

I believe the most critical aspect of such project is the enormous task of building a community around it. A community that will maintain and create innovative stuff around the “source”.

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15 responses to “G’s Map Maker and Openstreetmap (it’s the LICENSE)”

Your feed into planet openstreetmap.org doesn’t seem to be working correctly. The planet feed is only getting a partial feed rather than the full feed, and your titles are not linking correctly. Try clicking on ‘G’s Map Maker and Openstreetmap (it’s the LICENSE)’ on http://blogs.openstreetmap.org/. It seems to be set to link to the empty relative link. This problem carries through to the RSS feeds on blogs.openstreetmap.org too, meaning I cannot actually get to this article at all without a lot of futzing around.

I’ve been contributing to Google Map Maker. I know about the licensing issues and all… the free license is good and all, but I want my contributions to be seen and used, and a whole lot more eyes are on Google Maps.

That freedom is what I want in OSM. We tried setting up OSM server that means you need to download the entire data of OSM (at no cost) at least the Philippine data and it works.

I also contribute to Google Map Maker. I’m trying to correct some roads and street names to match OSM data to places where I’ve been and familiar but most of my edits was rejected because I am labeled as spam. I have no problem when I add new roads. Map maker’s editor is superb but the moderation is what I am not comfortable with.

This moderation in G’ Map Maker intrigues me. In OSM we don’t have that in place (although I somehow “moderate” if wrong data is added and I hate doing it). In mapmaker who controls and decides what data is valid or a spam?

“I longed for the day when Openstreetmap Philippines gets such hype from the mainstream media, but being a volunteer group, how can we organize such press event when we can’t even provide free beer to journalists?”

One of the aims of Local Chapters is to support different OSM groups getting more attention from the media. There are a few ways to do this – form the Foundation having a central press channel to having “press workshops” where we get together and discuss what works and what doesn’t work with the media.

What do you think is needed to let the Philippines group outreach to press more effectively?